Inbal Jerusalem Magazine - Inbal Hotel Jerusalem

Excellencedown, and then going back and doing the same slopeagain – this time without slipping, or seeing the flag ofIsrael fluttering in the wind, right next to that of Sweden,from the roof of the Grand Hotel in Stockholm.”Ada E. Yonath(Chemistry) 2009In 2009, Crystallographer Ada E. Yonath won the NobelPrize, along with Venkatraman Ramakrishnan andThomas A. Steitz for her studies on the structure andfunction of the ribosome.Yonath was first in three respects - the first Israeliwoman to win the Nobel Prize, the first woman from theMiddle East to win the coveted award in the sciences,and the first woman in 45 years to win the Nobel Prizefor Chemistry.In her acceptance speech Yonath quoted from the 1978Nobel Laureate for literature, Isaac Bashevis Singer,who started his acceptance speech with: "People askReuters Amos Ben Gershom, National Photo CollectionCrystal Clear. Dan Shechtman was awarded the 2011 NobelPrize in chemistry for “the discovery of quasicrystals”.me often, 'Why do you write in a dying language,Yiddish?'"Yonath could easily relate to this. “Many distinguishedscientists said: 'why work on ribosomes, they aredead ... we know all what can be known about them'or 'this is a dead end road' or 'you will be deadbefore you get there'.” Despite the tiresome terminalwarnings of her colleagues, their predictions provedwrong and “ribosomes are alive and kicking - so am I- and their high resolution structures stimulated moreadvanced studies as well as the imagination of manyyoungsters, including my granddaughter, Noa, whoinvited me to explain to her class what the ribosomeis. Also, there is a new saying in Israel: "Curly hair- like mine - means Rosh Male Ribosomim, whichtranslates to: head full of ribosomes.”Defying the Naysayers. Ignoring the misgivings of her esteemedcolleagues, Ada E. Yonath’s perseverance led this first woman in theMiddle East to the podium in Stockholm for the 2009 Nobel Prize forChemistry who is seen here with King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden.Dan Shechtman(Chemistry) 2011Israel’s tenth laureate too had to defy the doubtersin his field, including one of the most influentialSpring-Summer 201314